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Leafs finally blow a third-period lead as Edler wins it for Canucks in OT

That was all Alexander Edler required to send the Maple Leafs to an overtime loss on Wednesday night at Rogers Arena.

The Vancouver Canucks defenceman snapped a shot past Andersen at 3:11 of the extra period, giving the Canucks a come-from-behind 3-2 victory before a boisterous crowd of 18,871 that featured more than a few Leafs sweaters.

“Of course, I want to save that one,” Andersen said. “I thought I took my eyes off it a little bit too quick, thinking about the next play. It dipped on me a little bit, it’s one that I got to stop. I thought we deserved more, but that happens.”

For the first time this season, the Leafs failed to win when leading after two periods as a 2-0 lead was erased by the Canucks. Toronto is 32-0-1 when leading after two, and it was the NHL last team to be perfect in that situation.

“Our team doesn’t quit,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. “We have battled back all year. We had a lot of guys who played well tonight.”

The Leafs, who lost for the second time in seven games, finish their three-game trip through Western Canada on Saturday night against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.

Toronto has 87 points, two behind the second-place Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs have 15 games remaining, the Bruins 16.

Centre Frederik Gauthier was a healthy scratch as coach Mike Babcock used Nic Petan between Tyler Ennis and Trevor Moore on the fourth line, a move that might have limited Babcock’s options.

“Everybody loves players, it’s great, but you have to be able to use lines and everyone has to have a role,” Babcock said. “Someone has to penalty kill and someone has to be able to take faceoffs, so I didn’t think I gave our team with that lineup as good an opportunity as I might have.”

Babcock indicated earlier in the day that Andersen will be rested more as the regular season winds down.

“I don’t know,” Andersen said. “I don’t care about the number (of games he plays). Just play when they tell me to and rest. I “It’s a little different because of the time I missed (with a groin injury in December/January), so I don’t know how that will add up, but I try to get a little rest in and get Sparky in there as well to keep him sharp.”

Did the coaching staff ask for Andersen’s input?

“I’m going to keep that between us,” Andersen said as his scrum ended.

Toronto killed a penalty to defenceman Morgan Rielly, playing in front of family and friends, with under seven minutes remaining in the third.

But the Leafs couldn’t hold off a determined Canucks club in the final 20 minutes of regulation, as Vancouver tied the game in a span of less than two minutes.

Loui Eriksson scored at 2:21, beating Andersen with a backhand.

Ex-Leaf Josh Leivo brought Vancouver even at 4:13 as Auston Matthews served a Leafs bench minor for too many men on the ice.

Leafs fans watching on television, and in the building, would have nodded with familiarity when Leivo snapped a quick shot past Andersen. We saw it every so often in Toronto in the rare times Leivo was used by Babcock.

Leivo got free when defenceman Jake Muzzin went to the puck carrier, giving Leivo, acquired from the Leafs in December, an open lane.

“He is a guy who we like in this locker room a lot,” Mitch Marner said. “It’s great seeing him do well over there. It sucks seeing him score tonight.”

Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom made a lunging glove save on John Tavares in the third period, while Andersen did the same on Bo Horvat as the second period ended.

The Leafs scored two goals 34 seconds apart in the second period.

Ron Hainsey has become one of the Leafs’ most dependable penalty-killers, though the last thing Babcock would expect out of the veteran is a shorthanded goal.

Of course, when Marner is killing penalties, that increases the chances of any Leaf on the ice scoring, no matter that the opponent is alleged to be at an advantage.

And so it was that Marner and Hainsey broke in on a two-on-one as Patrick Marleau served a hooking minor. Marner waited and finally passed off to Hainsey, who easily put the puck into the net past Markstrom at 12:28. The assist was Marner’s 11th point in his past five games.

In his previous 1,053 NHL games, Hainsey scored one shorthanded goal. That came two seasons ago when the 37-year-old was a member of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Rielly, who was not made available to reporters after the game, scored at 13:02 after Marleau caused a turnover and John Tavares took control of the puck. Tavares fed Rielly, who scored on Markstrom’s short side.

The goal was Rielly’s 17th, which leads NHL defencemen. And it was his 47th even-strength point, which also leads NHL blueliners. The San Jose Sharks’ Brent Burns is second with 42.

Toronto has little choice but to get by without injured defencemen Jake Gardiner and Travis Dermott, and on Wednesday, Babcock went with a third pair of Martin Marincin and Justin Holl, choosing to sit Igor Ozhiganov.

After the game, Babcock said Ozhiganov will be in the lineup in Edmonton.